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Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Week 18

Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Week 18

The trade deadline has come and gone, which can only mean one thing. No, not that your favorite team should have traded this player or traded for that player. It means that we’re now into August, which for many in head-to-head leagues is the last month of the regular season. Even for those who play roto or points, or whose playoffs don’t start until September, time is still running out to make up ground in your league. With the fantasy trade deadline also coming up, one of the best and easiest ways to do this is by streaming pitchers, which if done right, can be of serious benefit to your team. To determine the pitchers eligible for consideration, I looked at players who were owned in less than 30 percent of ESPN leagues.

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Monday, August 6

Lance Lynn (NYY) @ Chicago White Sox (16.7%)
Lynn looked good in his first appearance in pinstripes, striking out five over 4 1/3 innings of relief. Now he’ll move to the rotation, where he’ll start off with a soft matchup against the White Sox. The Sox had a 96 wRC+ against righties going into Thursday and a strikeout rate north of 25 percent, fifth-worst in baseball. Lynn, for his part, has made batters miss this year, striking out nearly 22 percent of the batters he’s faced. His 4.89 ERA might dissuade some, but a 4.57 FIP and 4.42 xFIP look a little better and indicate he should be able to handle his opponent in this one.

Tuesday, August 7

Robbie Erlin (SD) @ Milwaukee Brewers (0.5%)
It’s no guarantee that Erlin is the one starting this game, but if he does, he becomes a very attractive candidate. Most of his numbers this season have come out of the pen, but they’re impressive nevertheless. He is the owner of a 3.47 ERA, 3.31 FIP, and 3.17 xFIP, showing that his performance hasn’t been a fluke, and his strikeout rate sits at a healthy 22 percent. Meanwhile, the Brewers haven’t fared well against lefties this season — Milwaukee hitters had an 84 wRC+ against southpaws going into Thursday, seventh lowest in MLB.

Wednesday, August 8

Trevor Richards (MIA) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (10.7%)
In his past three starts, Richards has emerged with three quality starts, and he’s earned each one of them. He’s pitched 17 2/3 innings in those starts, allowing just 10 hits, five walks, and one run while striking out 18. The stretch has succeeded in lowering his season ERA to 4.06, while his FIP looks even better at 3.65. He’s faced some tough teams in those games as well, including the Nationals and Phillies, so the Cardinals shouldn’t scare any potential owners away. They’ve been below average against righties on the season and are striking out an above-average percent of the time.

Thursday, August 9

Joey Lucchesi (SD) @ Milwaukee Brewers (14.3%)
While Lucchesi hasn’t kept up the torrid pace with which he started the season (2.78 ERA and 27 percent strikeout rate through March and April), he’s still been good enough to hold his own in his first Major League season. Some might point to his 4.58 FIP, which is nearly 100 points higher than his ERA and would seem to imply that he’s gotten extremely lucky. A 19.1 percent HR/FB rate (and consequently a 3.83 xFIP) would indicate otherwise, though. Whichever metric you choose to believe, Lucchesi has been adequate at his worst and great at his best. You can read about the Brewers’ struggles against lefties above, and Lucchesi will take full advantage of that.

Friday, August 10

Andrew Suarez (SF) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (11.3%)
I know I’ve written about Suarez before, and every time I do, I’m surprised he’s not owned in more leagues. His ERA is over 4.00, but just barely (4.11), and all of his estimators would tell you that he’s been unlucky even with that (3.86 FIP, 3.50 xFIP). He’s struggled in his past three starts, but those were against pretty decent offenses in Milwaukee, Seattle, and Oakland (not a sentence I thought I’d be writing four months ago). Before that, he had a four-start stretch in which he didn’t allow more than one run and a six-start stretch where he didn’t allow more than two. He won’t blow you away with his numbers, but he’s one of the most dependable guys out there who’s not already owned.

Saturday, August 11

Steven Matz (NYM) @ Miami Marlins (16.6%)
It’s unclear if Matz will make this start due to an injury, but if he’s on the mound, he should be in your lineup. His numbers are only okay- 4.35 ERA, 4.74 FIP, and a 21.2 percent strikeout rate – but going against the Marlins as a lefty, you don’t have to good. The only team worse against lefties this season than the Marlins is the Mets, coincidentally. Marlins hitters have a 79 wRC+ this season. The last time Matz faced them, he struck out six over 5 1/3 scoreless innings.

Sunday, August 12

Joe Musgrove (PIT) @ San Francisco Giants (19.6%)
Musgrove’s last two starts epitomize what you’re going to get from him. He’s gone seven innings in both, only striking out a combined four but also allowing just three earned runs. For the season, he has struck out less than 20 percent of the batters he’s faced, but he’s managed a 3.63 ERA and 3.83 FIP despite that. The Giants have been below average against righties, as they had a 94 wRC+ before Thursday’s games (12th lowest) and struck out 23.8 percent of the time (eighth highest).

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Brian Reiff is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Brian, check out his archive and follow him @briansreiff.

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